Apparatus for registering and soldering double page electrotype



July 31, 1956 w. FAEBER 2,756,710

APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING AND SOLDERING DOUBLE PAGE ELECTROTYPE OriginalFiled Jan. 31, 1951 FIG. I. A?

an? [44 hi A4 FIG.4.

INVHVTOR. HARRY w FAEBER 1 4! 3? 4 2M 45 20 WWW 2M M 3. /J ATTORNEYSUnited States Patent APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING SOLD'ER- lNG DOUBLEPAGE'ELE'CTROTYPE Harry W. Faeber, Larchmont, N. Y., assiguor to Time,giciiirporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Originalapplication January. 31, 1951, Serial No. 208,783, now Patent No;2,706,946, dated April 26, 1955. Divided and this application August 29,1952, Serial No. 307,058

2 Claims. (Cl. 113-99) The present invention relates to apparatus forregistering and soldering double page electrotypes and embodies, morespecifically, an improyed'method and apparatus by means of whichelectrotypes that are to be usedin a printing operation to print adoublepage spread, may be accurately registered and secured together to form aunitary printing surface. The method contemplates providing steps bymeans ofwhich the securing operation may be effected in such fashion asto avoid interfering with the printed image formed by the double pageprinting surface and also, as above suggested, provides means by whichthe two separately formed single page electrotypes may be effectivelyregistered prior to and during the operation in which they are securedtogether as a unitary structure.

It is common, in many commercial printing operations, to print subjectmatter upon the facing pages of two adjacent pages of the printedmatter. In such an operation it is important, of course, that thesubject matter of one adjacent page agree with and provide the desiredcontinuity of the subject matter of the adjacent facing page. It isrequired in existing operations, that the separate electrotypes of thetwo adjacent facing pages be soldered together to form a unified doublepage plate. In multicolor printing, great difficulty is experienced inregistering the several color plates of such double page spreads on thepress, because the soldering operation does not join the twoelectrotypes together accurately enough to bring the adjoining images inexactly the same relationship with one another on the several colorplates of the same subject. Furthermore, in present practice, anydiscrepancy of register can only be determined after the plates havebeen put on the press and a trial impression has been run. Thus it isoften required to remove one or more of the color plates from the press,cut them apart and resolder them in an effort to correct therelationship of the adjoining images.

In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus is providedwhereby the single page electrotypes composing double page spreads maybe accurately registered and secured together in exactly the samerelationship on all the several color plates of the same subject well inadvance of going to press.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, it will now bedescribed in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1is an axonometric view showing certain apparatus that may be used inperforming the initial steps of the present invention; 7

Figure 2 is an axonometric view illustrating the manner in which thesingle electrotypes shown in Figure 1 are punched to facilitate registerof the electrotypes during the operation in which they are securedtogether;

Figure 3 is an axonometric view illustrating the apparatus by means ofwhich the electrotypes may be secured in position during the solderingor other operation in which the electrotypes are secured together; and

Figure 4 is a view in cross-section, taken at line 44 of Figure 1.

Referring to the above drawings, the base 10 of a registering mechanismis provided with a hinged plate 11 upon which iscarried a transparentand cross-ruled register screen 12. Mating locating lugs 13 and 14 arecarried on the members 10 and11 and, on the base 10, locating wedges 15are provided. A register block 16 is provided with a plurality ofadjusting knobs 17 which operate threaded shafts in the block 16 toadjust the positions of positioninglugs 18. As illustrated in Fig. 1,the lugs 18 are used to position two separate single page electrotypes19 and 20.

After the electrotypes 19 and 20 have been properly located upon thebase 16, as described in greater detail hereinafter, the baseistransferred to a punch mechanism comprising a punch table 21 having aplurality of punch fixtures 22, 23, 24, and 25. In the mechanismillustrated, the punch fixture 25 is slidably mounted in tracks 25a uponthe table 21. Stop 2511, which is fastened to table 21, locates punchfixture 25 in working position. Table 21 is provided with a plurality oflocating wedges 26 similar to the wedges 15 on base 10 by means of whichthe register blocks 16 may be properly located upon the table 21. Eachof the punch fixtures is provided with an operating handle, asillustrated at 27, and the punching operation performed upon the plateswill be readily apparent from Figure 2 and will be described in detailpresently.

After the punching has been accomplished, the electrotypes 19 and 20 aretransferred to a soldering block 28 having spaced pedestals 29 and 30and adjustable positioning lugs 31. The electrotypes 19 and 20 aresecured in position by the lugs 31. Hold down pads 32 and 33 are mountedupon the respective pedestals 29 and 30 by means of piston rods 34 and35, respectively, actuated by the fluid pressure within'the respectivecylinders 36 and 37. While the electrotypes are held in the mannerillustrated in Figure 3, they are secured together bya solderingoperati'on in a manner presently to be described.

The method of the present invention is performed in the followingmanner. Two separate single page electrotypes 19 and 20 of the desireddouble page spread are placed upon the register block 16 as illustratedin Figure 1. Prior to this location of the electrotypes, the joiningedges were preferably previously trimmed a trifle inside of the desiredjoining edges, so as to allow a slight space between the twoelectrotypes when they are positioned in the proper relationship to oneanother.

The register screen 12 is then lowered upon the electrotypes and theimages of the electrotypes are squared with respect to the screen bymeans of the knobs 17 and lugs 18.

After the single page electrotypes have been properly located, theregister screen is lifted and the electrotypes ar inked. A transparency38 is then placed over the electrotypes and the image thereof printedupon the transparency. During this operation transparency 38, which isclamped between bars 38a at both ends, is stretched tight between bars16a and 16b. The bars 16:! is fastened fixedly to register block 16, butbar 16b can be moved parallel with itself by means of tightening screws16c and is thus used to stretch the transparency securely over theelectrotypes.

The printed transparency is now set aside, and the register block 16 isthen transferred to the punch table 21 and properly located by thewedges 26. Punches 22 and 23 are actuated to punch match-up holes 39 and40 in the electrotypes and register holes 41 and 42 are punched by therespective punches 24 and 25. The register hole 42 is preferably roundwhile the hole 41 is elongated,

and it will be observed that the match-up holes 39 and 40 are half andhalf in the two joining edges of the electrotypes.

The punched electrotypes shown in Figure 2 are then placed face downupon the soldering block 28, as illustrated in Figure 3, and flushcopper plugs 43 and 44 are placed in the respective match-up holes 39and 40. The lugs 31 are then moved toward each other until theelectrotypes are brought up against the plugs 43. The hold down pads 32and 33 are then lowered to hold the electrotypes in the aforementionedposition and the adjacent or joining edges, together with the match-upplugs, are soldered together. The joining edges so soldered areindicated at 45 in Figure 3.

The double page spread is then subjected to further finishing operationsin accordance with standard practice now commonly used. In thisconnection, it is to be observed that the register holes 41 and 42 andthe matchup holes 39 and 40 are all outside the actual printing area.Thus, in the course of subsequent plate making operations, the holes 41and 42 and plugs 43 and 44 will be trimmed off.

If the printing operation to be performed is a multicolor one, thepreviously described registering and soldering operations werepreferably performed upon the key electrotypes. Having completed thejoining of the key electrotypes, the successive color electrotypes arejoined by locating the color electrotypes upon the register block 16 andregistering them to agree with the printed image upon the transparency38 (the joining edges having previously preferably been trimmed). Afterproperly registering the color electrotypes, the successive punching,

soldering and finishing operations are performed as pre- 4 1951, now U.S. Patent No. 2,706,946, dated April 26, 1955.

While the invention has'been described with specific reference to theaccompanying drawings, it is not to be limited save as defined in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for positioning electrotypes during soldering or likesecuring operations comprising a block forming a supporting surface, twoopposed, spaced apart pairs of lugs mounted on said block for movementtoward and away from each other to engage the outer ends of a pair ofelectrotypes on said supporting surface, screw means on said blockengaging said lugs for adjusting each lug individually to adjust theposition of each electrotype on said surface to bring them into apredetermined relation to each other, spaced pedestals fixed to saidblock outwardly of said pairs of lugs, hold-down pads mounted on saidpedestals and movable toward and away from said surface, means on saidpedestals for moving said pads toward said surface to engagesubstantially the mid-portions of said electrotypes and clamp them intheir adjusted positions for soldering and like operations.

2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 in which each of said means formoving said pads comprises a cylinder and a piston movable in saidcylinder by fluid pressure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS449,039 Fietsch Mar. 24, 1891 822,775 Schnurr June 5, 1906 1,227,155Koehler May 22, 1917 2,000,755 Heck May 7, 1935 2,095,964 Blickman Oct.19, 1937 2,200,536 Bungay May 14, 1940 2,421,957 Mead June 10, 19472,517,431 Hildebrand et al Aug. 1, 1950 2,583,219 Lancaster .Tan. 22,1952 2,588,810 Dietrich Mar. 11, 1952 2,630,702 Pizzani Mar. 10, 1953FOREIGN PATENTS 326,798 Great Britain Mar. 19, 1930

